Guard Your Heart

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Scripture: Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

23 Above all else, guard your heart,

for everything you do flows from it.

 

Devotion:

            Today, we look at an important piece of wisdom from the book of Proverbs in the Hebrew scriptures. The importance of this word from God is often overlooked in every generation. In our era this word is almost entirely forgotten and utterly lost. Before we think about what this passage is saying to us. Let us look at what the Hebrew behind our translations actually means.

            First, “above all else” translates a single Hebrew word ‘kol’. This word means everything, everyone, all, total. The author puts the reader on notice that what is coming he or she considers to be of upmost importance. ‘Mishmar’ is the Hebrew for guard, and it means guard or lookout, watch carefully. Finally, the word for heart is ‘leb’ in Hebrew. It is never used to refer to the organ of the body, but always refers to the inner self.

            People overlook their hearts today more than ever. This can be seen in the massive increase in addiction, depression, and suicidality seen in our country today. Our inner self is subject to damage from all kinds of sources but the most ubiquitous is the cell phone. In our pockets we have access to a quantity of information that is far beyond anything that came before. Far too often, however, this power is used against us rather than for us. We sit for hours scrolling with seldom a thought about what the content we are viewing is doing to our hearts.

            Likewise, we seldom pay attention to what is flowing from our hearts as a result. Unless there is some dire immediate consequence, we will keep consuming what may be slow poison for our souls. We need to recover some awareness of what we are allowing into our hearts. We need to follow the admonition of Paul in Philippians 4:8 (ESV),

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

How often do we measure what we take into our minds by these criteria? If you are anything like me, not very often. We tend to assume that we can handle putting mental and spiritual junk food into our eyes and ears. Then we wonder why we feel anxious and depressed after consuming this junk. Let us ask God to help us consume only things that are: true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise.

Prayer:

            Lord God thank you for giving us your wisdom in the Bible. May we not be readers only but doers as well. Help our wayward souls to be obedient to your word and take in only those things that may be profitable for us to consume. Help us to be ever ready to assist our brothers and sisters by not passing around spiritual junk food. Teach us to be ever ready to encourage one another to do good works and be a bold and brilliant witness to you and the wisdom of your teachings. Amen. 

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